Since 1979, the Intercontinental Championship has been one of the most prestigious championships in WWE history. It's seen as the stepping stone to becoming the WWE Champion with some of the greatest Intercontinental Champions leaving a lasting legacy with the title. The likes of Randy Savage, Bret Hart, and Shawn Michaels made the championship feel meaningful, and because they did an exceptional job with the secondary title, they went on to become outstanding WWE Champions.
WWE has hired tons of gigantic and larger-than-life wrestlers over the years, and some of them managed to get their hands on the Intercontinental Championship. They weren't known for putting on technical masterclasses, and some of their runs as Intercontinental Champion were underwhelming.
10 The Godfather
In 1998, Kama Mustafa was repackaged as The Godfather. Godfather wasn't the greatest in-ring performer but he was an entertainer with the Ho train which garnered a huge pop. Nevertheless, Godfather has a sole Intercontinental Championship reign to his name as he defeated Goldust on the April 12, 1999 edition of Raw.
Godfather's run as Intercontinental Champion wasn't the greatest although he successfully retained the gold against Goldust at Backlash. The WWE Hall of Famer held the championship for a month, and he dropped the title to Jeff Jarrett, who paid tribute to Owen Hart after his victory.
9 Ryback
After a few near misses in his quest to become WWE Champion in 2012 and 2013, Ryback shifted his attentions towards the Intercontinental Championship. Daniel Bryan relinquished the championship due to injury but Ryback prevailed in an Elimination Chamber match in 2015 to capture the vacant title.
Ryback's Intercontinental Championship run failed to catch fire as it was atrocious. He retained the title against Big Show at Money in the Bank 2015 by disqualification, and he beat both Show and Miz in a triple threat match at SummerSlam. Ryback's work rate wasn't the best, and when he lost the Intercontinental Title to Kevin Owens at Night of Champions it was one of the best things that happened to the championship.
8 Braun Strowman
Braun Strowman got his hands on the Intercontinental Championship in January 2020 when he defeated Shinsuke Nakamura on an episode of SmackDown. The Monster Among Men was one of the largest wrestlers to hold the Intercontinental Championship but he wasn't known for putting on technical masterclasses.
When used correctly, Strowman was a massive asset to WWE but his departure in June 2021 was a shock. Strowman dropped the Intercontinental Championship to Sami Zayn in a handicap match at Elimination Chamber 2020 which summed up the state of his Intercontinental Title reign. Strowman didn't dwell for too long as he went on to beat Goldberg for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 36.
7 Chyna
History was made when Chyna defeated Jeff Jarrett in a Good Housekeeping match to become the first woman to win the Intercontinental Championship at No Mercy 1999. The Ninth Wonder of the World was a trailblazer, and she had a couple of excellent matches with Chris Jericho at Survivor Series and Armageddon over the title.
Chyna managed to win the Intercontinental Championship twice as she had a brief stint with the belt in 2000 albeit for eight days. Chyna was a huge attraction and she wasn't best remembered for her matches but she did carve out a successful career for herself to be wrestling with the men.
6 Ezekiel Jackson
For some reason, it never quite worked out for Ezekiel Jackson. Jackson had a great physique, and he was a powerhouse but he failed to translate his skills inside the ring. Jackson was the final ECW Champion in WWE history when he beat Christian on the final episode of ECW in February 2010.
Nevertheless, Jackson departed The Corre, and he feuded with Wade Barrett over the Intercontinental Championship. Jackson beat Barrett for the title at the second time of asking at Capitol Punishment in June 2011. His reign wasn't great, and he lost the gold to Cody Rhodes two months later, who brought back the old Intercontinental Championship belt.
5 Santino Marella
Santino Marella was another entertainer but not the best of wrestlers. However, Marella captured the Intercontinental Championship twice in his career. The first time was the Milan miracle when Bobby Lashley aided Marella in beating Umaga for the championship in 2007.
Marella teamed up with Beth Phoenix to beat Kofi Kingston and Mickie James at SummerSlam 2008 for their respective second runs as Intercontinental and Women's Champions. Moreover, Marella didn't do the Intercontinental Champion any favors since he wasn't the best of in-ring competitors.
4 Big Show
At WrestleMania XXVIII, Big Show finally had his WrestleMania moment when he beat Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental Championship. The World's Largest Athlete's triumph was a significant one as he became a Grand Slam Champion.
Show had been a mainstay in WWE for a couple of decades, and he had countless memorable moments. You wouldn't call Show a workhorse wrestler and his Intercontinental Championship reign was poor as he dropped the championship back to Rhodes at Extreme Rules 2012.
3 Umaga
In 2007, Umaga's unbeaten record was ended by John Cena in a WWE Championship match at New Year's Revolution, and he lost a Last Man Standing match to Cena at the Royal Rumble. However, Umaga was still a prominent figure as he was handpicked by Mr. McMahon to represent him in the Battle of the Billionaires at WrestleMania 23.
The Samoan Bulldozer dethroned Jeff Hardy for his first Intercontinental Championship reign. However, Umaga's second time around as Intercontinental Champion was much better. He retained the title against Jeff at The Great American Bash and in a triple threat match against Mr. Kennedy and Carlito at SummerSlam. It's a shame that Umaga never became a world champion in WWE as he could hang with the big boys.
2 Rikishi
Umaga's brother Rikishi also captured the Intercontinental Championship in his Hall of Fame career. Rikishi's popularity was second to none in 2000 which is why he was rewarded with a brief stint as Intercontinental Champion. Rikishi defeated Chris Benoit for the gold, and he went on to reach the King of the Ring final weeks later.
Rikishi captivated the audience with his stink face, and with his dancing alongside Too Cool. Whilst, it was nice to see Rikishi holding the Intercontinental Championship, he didn't do the championship any justice with Val Venis beating him for the title a month later.
1 The Ultimate Warrior
He may have not been technically sounded like Randy Savage or Ricky Steamboat but The Ultimate Warrior is one of the greatest Intercontinental Champions of all time. Warrior bulldozed his way past The Honky Tonk Man at SummerSlam 1988 for his first reign with the Intercontinental Championship, and he ended The Honky Tonk Man's historic 454-day reign with the championship in the process.
Warrior certainly made the Intercontinental Championship feel relevant, and it was a big deal when he dropped the Intercontinental Championship to Rick Rude at WrestleMania V. Warrior managed to regain the title from Rude at SummerSlam 1989, and at WrestleMania VI, Warrior became the first man to hold the Intercontinental and WWE Championships simultaneously when he overcame Hulk Hogan.